£53m Public project collapses three weeks before completion

Published Tuesday 7 March 2006 at 12:45 by Alistair Smith

The future of one of Arts Council England’s final capital Lottery projects is under threat after the company behind the £53 million arts centre announced that it had gone into administration only weeks before the venue was due to be completed.

West Bromwich-based arts complex The Public has received £26.5 million of funding from ACE, as well as support from Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, and was thought to be only three weeks away from finishing building work.

However, in a statement confirming the organisation’s decision to enter administration, chief executive Sylvia King commented: “In order to protect our staff, our creditors and the vision of The Public we have yesterday put into court notice of intention to appoint administrators. Our trustees have been working extremely hard with our executive team to resolve with the funders the range of issues that face us. The trustees finally had no alternative but to take this route.

“We will be working closely with the administrator, whose first responsibility is to attempt to keep the organisation as a going concern. It is a very sad day for me and those colleagues that I have worked alongside for 30 years. However this is not the end, it is a stage in the reforming of the project and the vision.”

The project had identified a significant shortfall in funds as it approached its completion date. However, its stakeholders - ACE, Sandwell council and AWM - met to discuss the situation and decided to continue to support the venue, deeming it was not necessary to call in administrators. Despite this, shortly after, a decision was taken by The Public’s trustees that administration was the best way forward for the centre.

When complete, the site is due to host a range of artistic activities, including an events space which can be used as a 330-seat theatre. It is the first ever major arts centre in Sandwell and is seen as a way of regenerating what is one of the West Midland’s poorest areas.

ACE’s large-scale flagship capital projects have included major developments, such as Sadler’s Wells in London and The Lowry in Salford. These schemes were funded using the huge boost in arts investment generated by the introduction of the National Lottery. More recently, ACE has focussed its Lottery funding exclusively on smaller-scale projects and The Public will be one of its very last of the large-scale capital projects.

A spokesperson for ACE commented: “The Public has been developed as an inspirational piece of modern architecture in the heart of West Bromwich. We very much regret that the company has gone into administration. ACE, Sandwell council, AWM and other partners will now urgently review the implications. We remain committed to the project and are confident that a solution can be found to ensure the opening of the building as a centre for art, learning, regeneration and the creative industries.”